Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007 grew by 6.2 per cent in real terms to 56.52 billion leva, or 28.9 billion euro in what is a 6.2 per cent year-on-year increase, Todor Todorov, head of the National and Economic Balances directorate at the National Statistics Institute (NSI), told a news conference on March 17.

In the fourth quarter alone, GDP rose by 6.9 per cent on the year to 16.346 billion leva, or 8.358 billion euro.

The gross added value, in current prices, rose by 8.4 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter and by 6.3 per cent for full year 2007 to, respectively, 13.538 billion leva and 46.4 billion leva.

The industrial sector rose the fastest last year, by 14 per cent and, respectively, boosted its share in the economy to 32.3 per cent, compared with 30.9 per cent a year earlier.

The top performers in 2007 were the construction sector (up 16.9 per cent), the processing industry (up 15.4 per cent), electricity and heating energy generation sector (up 17.2 per cent).

Services rose slower, by 7.5 per cent, but accounted for the largest share, 61.5 per cent, of the gross added value.

Meanwhile, the agricultural sector's share in economic growth continued to dwindle, accounting for only 6.2 per cent of the economy in 2007, compared with 8.5 per cent a year earlier/

During the same period, capital investments rose to 29.7 per cent of GDP.

Bulgaria closed the year with a negative trade balance of 12.49 billion leva as the trend of imports growth outpacing exports growth persisted. While imports rose by 9.9 per cent, exports grew by 5.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, the NSI revised the economic growth data for 2006 upwards, by 0.1 percentage points, to 6.3 per cent. Individual consumption was revised up by 1.7 percentage points, collective consumption by 4.2 percentage points.

Growth of the agricultural sector was revised from 0.9 perc ent to 1.0 per cent. The industrial sector growth was cut from 8.3 per cent to 7.8 per cent. Exports growth was cut from 9.0 per cent to 8.7 per cent and imports – from 15.2 per cent to 14.0 per cent.

The revisions, Todorov said, were attributable to either the filing of new or updated data, or the introduction of new calculation methodologies.